Pitcher Shinobu Fukuhara helped his own cause with a two-out RBI single to drive in the go-ahead run in the fourth inning and Makoto Imaoka knocked in another in the seventh as Hanshin held off Yomiuri 4-3 to end the Giants' winning streak at four games.
Tomoaki Kanemoto of the Hanshin Tigers runs to third base during
Saturday's game against the Giants at Koshien Stadium. Kanemoto played a Japan
record-tying 700th consecutive full game appearance.
Fukuhara (9-7) went seven sharp innings allowing one run to earn his first win in nearly a month and his sixth victory over Yomiuri. Hiroki Kokubo and Roberto Petagine hit solo shots in the eighth for Yomiuri but it was too little, too late.
Tomoaki Kanemoto matched a pro baseball record by appearing in his 700th consecutive full game to equal the mark set by former Hanshin player Hideshi Miyake.